Back To Oz
by SazAnn
Summary: Elphaba and Fiyero find out of a plot to assassinate Glinda, and decide they need to do something about it, but to do that, they need to reveal themselves to Glinda, and return to Oz in disguise. Rated T for  violence.
1. Discovery

Elphaba sat on her bed, bored waiting for Fiyero to get back. He'd been going off a lot lately, and it worried Elphaba more and more each day. She was petrified of him getting seen.

Fortunately, he didn't that day as he came bursting into the bedroom.

"Elphaba!"

"Fiyero!"Elphaba's smile stopped when she saw the terrified expression on Fiyero's face. "Fiyero, what is it?"

Fiyero stared down at his straw feet sheepishly.

"I went to the borders of Oz, and I overheard something I shouldn't have."

Elphaba paused.

"Um, okay..."

Fiyero continued "There's a plot to... to..." he looked away and crossed his arms uncomfortably.

"What is it, Fiyero? Tell me!" prompted Elphaba.

"A plot to assassinate Glinda!"

Elphaba stepped back in shock.

"We have to do something about it!"

"Naturally! But what can we do out here? We can't stay here if we want to help, but if we go back to Oz, they'll kill us on the spot, and then we can't help either!" replied Fiyero.

"I don't care. We have more of a chance of helping in Oz."

"Do you realize what could happen if we do?"

"Do you realize what WILL happen if we DON'T?" retorted Elphaba.

Fiyero sighed. "Fine, you win. But how are we going to-"

Elphaba cut him off. "First of all, we need disguises. Yours will be easy- loose shirt, gloves, boots. Mine won't be nearly as simple. How can I hide green skin?"

She paced around the room for a solid minute until she came up with an idea. "Fiyero, is there any way of making face paint?"


	2. Red, Elle and Fikru

Elphaba was covered in face paint that made her look almost "normal", although she and Fiyero had agreed to lie low during their time in Oz unless 100% necessary. She was dressed in a coat that was "the wrong color" to her- not completely black. It was hideous to her, made of brown cotton with a bit of dark green silk-which was a little amusing to Fiyero. She also had on a long dark skirt that she actually didn't mind all that much.

Fiyero was wearing a long-sleeved loose shirt with gloves to cover up any sign of straw. He also had some difficulty taking a liking to them, but his disguise was much simpler.

"All right, are you sure you want to go through with this? Because once we go out that door, there's no going back." asked Fiyero once the disguises were done.

"Of course!" replied Elphaba. "Glinda is my best friend. I can't just sit back and watch her be killed! I have everything packed: Spare clothes, some money I saved, a wand of some sort if we need to use it, my broom, extra face paint, and of course, my spell book. We're ready to go."

"I suppose this _is_ better than ignorance." murmured Fiyero as they left.

An hour later, their walking had almost gotten them to the borders of Oz, and so far, nobody had even seen them. That is, until Elphaba heard the calling of a man.

"Hey, do you two know where yer headed?" he called at them. It was strange for Elphaba, because no one except Fiyero and Glinda had even spoken to her without screaming, "KILL THE WITCH!" at her for the longest time. When she looked up at him, he didn't reel back in disgust. He just looked at her as though she was a regular person. It felt good not to be detested.

"Err, yes. We're heading back to Oz." she replied quickly. "We're hikers. We had just gotten a little sidetracked from our regular path."

"Oh, I see. The name's Red. And you two are?"

"Fikru." lied Fiyero, coming up with the first name he could think of.

"Fikru?" mouthed Elphaba, shooting daggers at Fiyero for coming up with such a stupid fake name.

Red, however, didn't seem to notice the blatant lie. "Interesting… and yours, beautiful?" he asked, turning to Elphaba.

"El-" she stopped herself. "Elle."

"Elle! What a wonderful name! So did you two need any help with directions?" asked Red.

"Sure." Elphaba smiled. "Could you point us to where in Oz does Glinda the Good live? I hear she's beautiful, I just really wanted to see for myself!"

"Oh, of course ! Go forward until you hit the big sign that gives all the directions, and then go left. Follow that path, and eventually, you'll se a castle."

Elphaba and Fiyero thanked him and left. When they were a safe distance away, Elphaba glared at Fiyero.

"Fikru? Come on, Fiyero. You can do better than that!" she fumed.

"What was I supposed to say?" replied Fiyero.

"Anything but Fikru!" Elphaba sighed. It was hopeless. "Let's just go. Once we enter Oz and the Emerald City, it'll be easier to find places to eat and sleep."

Fiyero nodded and together they continued their quest to save Glinda.


	3. Brown's

"I can't do it, I can't do it, what if it doesn't work, I know I can't do it…" Elphaba was worrying herself with put-downs, which annoyed Fiyero to no end.

"Yes, we can. You're in disguise, no one but Glinda will recognize you." encouraged Fiyero. They were close to the beautiful castle where Glinda chose to take residence. Their plan was to act as though they wanted desperately to meet Glinda The Good, then perhaps a guard would let them in. Although it was late at night, Elphaba and Fiyero hoped they would still be let in.

"Come on Fae, we're this close!"

Elphaba took a deep breath, then another, and yet another. "I thought you said deep breathing was a way of calming myself, not sounding like a panting dog." she muttered.

Fiyero ignored the remark and put his straw arm around her. "Let's just go."

Together, they walked towards the castle door slowly. The entire way there, Elphaba was acting unsure and Fiyero was trying to comfort her, although deep down he was extremely nervous too.

Elphaba knocked on the door with a trembling hand. A muscular man answered it. Elphaba turned her face away from him by reflex before remembering that she was in disguise.

"We have come a long way from here too see Glinda the Good. We- we heard of how she's lovely and kind. We wanted to meet her for ourselves."

He looked at Elphaba and Fiyero skeptically until finally telling them "Come back tomorrow morning, do you know what time it is?" and slamming the door in their faces. The two looked at each other with downtrodden expressions before shuffling off.

"So, where are we going to stay for the night?" wondered Fiyero.

"I really hadn't thought of that." murmured Elphaba.

"Why don't you try Brown's Hotel?" called out a familiar voice. Red.

"What are you doing here?" wondered Fiyero.

"Simple. I tend to stay up late, and I'm meeting someone special here, when I noticed you and Elle here! Brown's is a good place to stay the night. I'm a frequent traveler and I tend to find it the best place!" boomed Red obnoxiously loudly.

"Good to know. So, where is it?" asked Elphaba.

Red gave them directions and they set off to Brown's.

"Don't you think it's weird how whenever we don't know where to go, _he _shows up?" Elphaba asked Fiyero.

"Not really. It only happened twice, it must be a coincidence. After all, it's a small world."

Elphaba sighed. "I suppose you're right." she told him. Yet in her mind, something just didn't seem right. It was almost as if he was following them. Was he someone important? Her thoughts tended to trail off, so she shook her head to clear it and kept walking until they reached a beaten-up looking building with a wooden sign that said "Brown's Hotel."

"This place looks disgusting." she said.

"At least it'll be cheap." Fiyero was certainly an optimist.

They entered Brown's. Inside it wasn't as bad as outside, though still hardly the #1 choice of a hotel. There were some tables and chairs around the room, and a flimsy-looking flight of stairs that presumably led up to the rooms. Behind the counter (the only nice-looking thing in the building) was a rich-looking man with smooth black hair and silk clothing. Elphaba wondered why he didn't spend some of that money fixing this place up, and decided to chalk it up to greed. She went up to the man, who was reading something, and said as non- witchlike as possible "Excuse me…" she shot Fiyero a look, "Fikru and I would like to book a room for the night."

He nodded and told them up front that it would be expensive, much to their annoyance. He then pointed them "up the stairs, room twenty- three." They went to their room: Two single beds that looked as though they could fall apart at any second, a pile of wood that was supposed to pass for a table and a mirror. It was hardly comfortable.

"They could have at least taken SOMETHING out of their budget and gotten blankets for the beds!" complained Fiyero.

"Good thing we're only staying the night. At least the beds have mattresses." Elphaba sat down on one of the beds, only to discover the mattresses were about as soft as steel.

"Ugh! Let's just try to get to sleep." offered Fiyero.

"Agreed. Good night… Fikru!"

"Night."


	4. Author's Note

**Here's a note to all my readers: So, I'm sure a lot of you know about what happened with darkgemwildcat. We've worked the issue out and now, everything is fine between us, so people that have been sending out hate messages to her, please stop. She apologized and hate messages aren't going to accomplish anything. **

** Thanks!**

** ~SazAnn~**


	5. An unexpected return to Oz

Wicked Chapter 5

At the same time Elphaba and Fiyero were trying to sleep on uncomfortable beds, a young girl far away in Kansas was sitting on her slightly more comfortable bed thinking about her experience in Oz. That completely wicked witch and her horrifying flying monkeys! Of course, she had enjoyed meeting Glinda the Good. But, she thought in retrospect, there was one thing she has forgotten to ask Glinda: What powers did the ruby slippers have? She was always curious, after all. And with no witch around Oz, no one could stop her from doing anything she wanted there. Sure, maybe she sounded a little bratty, but she could always justify it with her age.

She wondered how she could get back to Oz, until suddenly, she had a stroke of brilliance. Dorothy reached under her bed and dug out the slippers. She slid them onto her feet and clicked her heels, and poof! She was in Oz.

Elphaba woke to see Fiyero wandering around the small hotel room.

'Well, it's about time you woke up! Come on, let's check out of this place and head to Glinda's!"

The couple paid with almost all the money they had brought and walked to the castle of Glinda the Good. Ever so often, Elphaba would check over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't being followed, and Fiyero would have to put his arm around her and tell her it was okay ad she didn't have to be paranoid. Outside the doors, Elphaba checked with Fiyero:

"Does the paint look all right? No green patches? Nothing? Are we ready?" Fiyero nodded for the millionth time. The two of them started to walk towards the castle.

"Are we ready?" Dorothy asked her tiny dog excitedly. The puppy barked affirmatively, and they also began walking towards the castle. "Oooh, look! Two other people want to go see Glinda the Good!" she squealed. Elphaba turned her head.

"Oh my- Fiyero!" she hissed at him. "It's that bratty little girl that killed Nessa, stole her shoes, and tried to kill me!" Elphaba wanted to throttle her, but she knew if she did anything it would completely blow their cover. All she could do was glare at Dorothy angrily and think nasty thoughts. Did that obnoxious murderer really think Elphaba was dead? If only she knew. Elphaba smirked to herself in the satisfaction that she knew something that wretched farm girl didn't.

Dorothy was thinking very different thoughts, much simpler ones. She was really only concerned about whether she should knock on the door or if that lady and her friend were going to. "Excuse me, ma'am?" she asked. The lady seemed to jump a little.

"What?" she snapped. Where had Dorothy seen that lady before? Maybe it was just her imagination.

"Oh, I was just wondering if you were going to knock, or should I?"

"I will." she huffed.

Elphaba reached over and rapped on the door. The same man that opened the door the night before opened it.

"Oh, you again. I'll see if Glinda's available. Be right back." He shut the door and walked up to Glinda's room..

Glinda was writing on a tear-stained paper. She always wrote letters to Elphaba. It seemed ridiculous, writing to a dead person but it was the only way she could still feel as though her and Elphaba could still laugh together, be friends like they used to and have fun. She knew deep down it could never happen, but she just wanted to feel as though her and Elphie were communicating somehow.

_Dear Elphie…_

_If I could have one wish, any wish, I would want you back. I would have not given those slippers to Dorothy and Dodo. I would have come with you when you defied gravity. I would have done something- anything- to prevent what happened. I know I can't get my wish though. But if I could, I would. I really would. Please know that I'll remember you as the one person that changified my life. _

_Glinda_

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a knock on her door. "Miss Glinda, some fans are here to see you."

"Bring them in." she sighed. Glinda wiped the tears from her eyes and quickly applied some last-minute lipstick.

Dorothy was the first to run up to Glinda. She noticed an expression of shock on Glinda's face. Was there an expression of something else too? Dorothy couldn't tell for sure, but she could have sworn she saw something else flash over her eyes for a second. Was it… anger? _Must have been my imagination. _Dorothy thought.

"Miss Glinda!" she said happily

"Do-Dorothy?" asked Glinda, perplexed. "What is it? What in goodness' name are you doing back here in Oz?"

"I had a question for you!" Dorothy leaned in to whisper something.

"Waiwaiwait. You travelled all the way to Oz just because you wanted to ask me a question?"

"Yup!" smiled Dorothy. "What were the powers, exactly, of the magic slippers?"

Glinda was speechless. She really didn't know what to say.

"Uh…. I really… they… I'm not quite sure. Only Elphie- I mean, only the Wicked Witch really knew, and now, she's-."

"Oh." Dorothy was disappointed, but she shrugged it off. "Well then, I guess I should be going… but I am rather hungry. Are there any good places to eat?"

Glinda really didn't know anywhere that Dorothy would be able to eat, and she really didn't want to invite her to eat with her, but she was Glinda the Good, so she was expected to be nice to everyone. "Here, come have lunch with me."

Dorothy's eyes brightened. "Really?" Glinda nodded.

Elphaba cleared her throat.

"Excuse me, but she wasn't the only one who came here to see you."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I hadn't noticed…" Glinda looked up into Elphaba's eyes. "You?" Glinda wasn't entirely sure. Was that Elphie? It sure looked like her- but that was ridiculous. Elphie was dead- and green! And who was the man with her? He also looked Eerily familiar… "Is it… you?" Glinda asked, slightly shyly and slightly happily.

"Yeah, that's me. Hi." Elphaba probably could have come up with something slightly better to say, but she was just happy to see Glinda again, period, and besides, she wasn't about to say anything especially deep in front of that disgusting little Dorothy who looked as though she were missing out on an inside joke or something.

Glinda walked slowly up to Elphaba, no entirely sure what to do? Was she some kind of resurrected spirit, or was she alive completely? Glinda wasn't sure.

"Elphie? How did you- is that… who's the… FIYERO?" she half-whispered, half screamed. It couldn't be could it? But then again, she just found out that her dead best friend wasn't actually dead or green. So anything was possible.

Fiyero half-smiled. He wasn't sure what do. He had never seen Glinda while he was a scarecrow, and the last time he saw her was when he threatened to kill her. He knew that Glinda was well aware he didn't mean it, but it still made things a little, well, awkward to say the least. Especially since he had run off to be with Elphaba instead of her. Finally he just decided to say, "That would be me."

Glinda turned again to Elphaba. "Why aren't you dead? And why aren't you green?"

"I'm not dead because I never was. I slipped through a trap door. And I'm wearing face paint." Elphaba had to whisper very quietly so Dorothy wouldn't hear them.

Suddenly Glinda had run out of words to say. She reached towards Elphaba and Fiyero and to Fiyero's surprise, hugged them both. Fiyero had expected Glinda to be upset about the whole breaking-the-engagement-and-running-off-to-be-with-Glinda's-best-friend thing, but Glinda was really just happy to see them both again.

"Please, stay for lunch! We can talk after and have lots of fun!" she said to all three of them, raising her voice.

She led Fiyero, Dorothy and Elphaba to the beautiful dining room.

_Of course we'll talk._ Elphaba thought. _It just won't be all that fun._


	6. Lunch With Glinda

**A/N: I may not be able to update as much as I'd like to over the next week because I'll be in New York. And YES, I WILL be seeing Wicked again! Since I won't have my Mac when in NY, I won't be able to update until Wednesday, cause I'm leaving tomorrow. Oh, and YES, even though Fiyero is made of straw, he can eat. Deal with it. 3 SZ**

"This is delicious! I haven't eaten this well since…. since…. since I can't remember!" exclaimed Fiyero, although he remembered his food in Vinkus perfectly well. Where he and Elphaba were hiding, the food wasn't exactly top- quality, since there wasn't anywhere they could get good food.

"Yeah, where we come from, we don't get… what kind of soup is this?" Elphaba looked at the creamy broth she was eating.

"I think it's cream of mushroom… I didn't make it, so I'm not sure…" replied the blonde. "But does it really matter? The next course is coming soon!"

"Glinda?" Elphaba's face grew serious.

"Yes?"

"As much as I'd like to stay 100 % totally happy, we need to talk about… some things. Can we just…?" Elphaba paused.

"Oh, of- of course. Let's just..." stammered Glinda. "Come on, let's go check on the next course! And you can come too, mister…?"

"Fikru." replied Fiyero. He hated that name now, and wished he had never made it up. Glinda, however, seemed to find it comical, and she stifled a giggle.

"All right, come on, Fikru."

"Oooh, can I come too?" asked Dorothy enthusiastically.

"NO!" shouted Elphaba, Glinda and Fiyero at the same time. "Erm, I mean… why don't you wait here in case the next course comes before we're done. And feel free to start without us." added Glinda.

"Okay?" Dorothy was confused, but she stayed where she was.

Glinda led the couple past the kitchen and into a small room. "Here's a spare room where we can talk. I know you didn't just come here for fun. What's the deal?"

Elphaba and Fiyero looked at each other. "Well, Fiyero heard some talking of… that is to say, Fiyero heard some plotting to… well…"

Fiyero cut in. "I heard of a group plotting to assassinate you!"

Glinda gasped in pure shock. "What?" she gasped. Hyperventilating, she began to fling out questions. "Why? How? When? Who's responsible for this?"

Elphaba turned to Fiyero. "Fiyero?"

Fiyero replied, "They said they were going to do it at your birthday celebration. I really just heard voices; I listened but didn't dare to look. There were maybe four voices… They said since the celebration would be in public, they were going to… you know."

"My birthday celebration? But that's in a week! What can we do? I simply can't cancel it, all the Ozians are looking forward to it- but I can't just let action take its course! So…?"

Elphaba, Glinda and Fiyero all knew very well that they had to do something about it. Elphaba was the first to say it. "We need to find out who's behind it and stop them."

"But how?" wondered Fiyero. "If you're going to be in on it, Glinda, how will you explain your absence?"

"Well…" Glinda began, "Let's talk about it after lunch, Dorothy is waiting and I'm sure Dodo would like a treat."

Dorothy was waiting somewhat impatiently when they returned. "Is the next course coming?"

"Oh, of course!" answered Glinda quickly. Just on time.

"And now, your next course!" called their server. It was an exotic mushroom dish with a beautiful garnish. "And here is a beautiful wine for you, and you, and you." He served Elphaba, Fiyero and Glinda a glass of wine that Elphaba just stared at. "And for the little girl a juice!" The server attempted to slide the juice over the table, but he slipped at the last minute and accidentally splashed the drink on Elphaba's face- washing off some of the face paint.

"Oh, I am quite sorry, Ms Elle!" The server apologized. Fiyero was snapping at him, Elphaba was covering up her green skin and Glinda was just petrified. Elphaba needed to think. What could she do? Then she had a quick idea.

"Ugh, you stupid waiter! You messed up my make-up! GOD! Where can I wash up?" Elphaba tried to act like Glinda during her Galinda years. It worked.

"Sorry. Sorry. Go straight for five rooms, then the room on the left." stammered the server apologetically.

Elphaba smiled in relief and ran out of the room. The good news was that the server hadn't seen her green skin or even had the slightest idea that she was who she was. The bad news was that in her panic she had forgotten one thing: The waiter wasn't the only one she had to hide from.

Dorothy had seen her.


	7. Chapter 7

What would Elphaba do? They needed to do something, somehow. But what could they do? Dorothy knew now! The little brat would go around telling people she and Fiyero were alive, and then neither of the three would be alive for very long. They would kill her and Fiyero, and Glinda would be assassinated shortly afterwards! Elphaba thought and thought. She picked up her bag and re-applied face paint, and then she remembered something: She had brought a broom with her! It wasn't the one she had used when she defied gravity. That one was long gone. Her new broom was shiny and fresh. It was also much bigger. "Hmmm.." the broom gave Elphaba an idea.

She left the room and returned to the dining room. "Glinda, Fiye- Fikru, come with me. We need to discuss something. Glinda and Fiyero both stood up immediately when Dorothy interjected..

"Miss Glinda, don't do it! She's-"

"Shut up!" hissed Elphaba, and they all walked into the extra room again. "So Glinda. We know where the three of us can all hide.

"Where?" asked Glinda.

"Outside Oz with Fiyero and I! We have our own place, you can stay with us! And as for your party, tell them you've just decided to have it alone with a few friends but you'll make it up to them. Explain your absence by saying you've gone off to celebrate somewhere else! We can get there by broom!" explained Elphaba.

"Oh, Elphie, I don't know.." began Glinda.

"Glinda." said Elphaba firmly. "That's what you said last time, and look where we are now."

"Well… I suppose I would rather be with you than be dead. But what about Dorothy?" fretted Glinda.

"Don't worry, Glinda" Elphaba reassured her friend. "I've got it figured out."

"Yes, I'm going away for a while. No, I will not be requiring company. YES, I'll be fine!" Glinda said sharply to her very cautious … well, you could call them bodyguards, though their job consisted less of "protect Glinda" and more of "ask 'are you sure that's safe' over and over again.".

When they came back to the dining room, Dorothy stood up and backed away from Elphaba. "G-get away from me!"

"Look, Dara or whatever you are, you shouldn't even be here in Oz! You're a murdered and a thief!" snapped Elphaba.

"Well I can get away with whatever I want to- killing a Witch is fine if they're wicked. But YOU won't last long. I'll alert the Gale Force or anyone who can get you taken down. You're nothing but a wicked-"

"Look, I don't have to stand here and take this any longer. Come on, we're off. I'll steer the broom from the back. Glinda, you first." Glinda stepped onto the broom, still very unsurely.

"Miss Glinda! What are you doing?" cried Dorothy, but Glinda didn't respond.

"Fiyero, you next." Fiyero got on the broom as well.

Elphaba picked up Dorothy and hoisted her onto the broom.

"HEY! LET GO OF ME! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? MISS GLINDA? AREN'T YOU GOING TO STOP HER? ARE YOU GOING TO DO ANYTHING?" shouted Dorothy.

"Shut up!" snapped Elphaba, who got onto the broom and promptly took flight through the open windows and above the clouds.

The entire flight consisted of Glinda and Fiyero sometimes talking a little and sometimes exchanging awkward glances, Elphaba making sure the broom flew in the right direction and straight, and Dorothy clutching her dog and wailing.

"This is improper treatment! You stop this flying thing right now!"

Elphaba was fed up with Dorothy and her whining.

"Okay, listen up: We're flying to a place far away from Oz. For the past hour, you've been weeping and whining the whole way. We're almost there, but if you don't shut up, then so help me, I will push you off of this broom!" Dorothy didn't say anything for the rest of the flight.

When the journey was finished, they stopped outside a castle. It wasn't as nice as Kiamo Ko, but it was certainly a castle. Fiyero ran forward and opened the door. Glinda walked in uncertainly, and Elphaba went in while dragging Dorothy, who was screaming her head off.

"Shut up, no one can hear you out here!" God, she was annoying. How do you get someone to SHUT UP?

Inside, Elphaba gave everyone something to do. "Fiyero, you know the extra bedroom on the upper floor? Glinda can stay there. Can you show her where it is? And you," she stared at Dorothy. "Come with me."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: After this chapter I won't be able to update for a week because as you know I will be in NY!**

**-SAZANN-**

Elphaba was pulling Dorothy by the wrist. Dorothy was trying to run at no avail, so Elphaba was having quite the workout. They headed towards a small room much like the one the trapdoor led to in Kiamo Ko. Elphaba pulled Dorothy into the room and slammed the door.

Terrified, Dorothy immediately backed into the furthest corner. "D-don't hurt me!" she squeaked.

"Believe me, if I wanted to I would have long ago." replied Elphaba. "I'm not going to hurt you. Don't worry, okay?"

Hardly convinced, Dorothy just stood there. "I- don't know, I don't trust Wicked Witches…" Wicked Witches. Elphaba thought of the title she had gained- the Wicked Witch of the West. She wondered if she should tell Dorothy the truth. It wouldn't hurt, right? At least it would give her something to think about.

"Dorothy, you know, I have a name. It's not The Wicked Witch. What parent would name their kid that?" Elphaba tried to make that kind of approach. Maybe she could get Dorothy to listen. She really, really wanted someone to hear her out.

"Oh. I- I _guess _that's true." Dorothy hadn't really thought of her as someone who had a name or a real life before. "What is it?"

Elphaba had hoped for her to say that. "It's Elphaba. Dorothy nodded but really couldn't think of anything to say.

Elphaba continued. "I went to university like anyone. No one really liked me because I was green, but no one called me a Wicked Witch. As for the "Witch of the East" you killed, at that time, people simply _loved _her. But not quite as much as Galinda."

"G-Galinda? Who's Galinda?" asked Dorothy.

"I'll get to that in a sec. So, my professor, Dr Dillamond…."

She went on and on about her entire life story. Dorothy listened in fascination. She had no idea there was this whole new layer to Elphaba. Listening to her talk about relationships, friends, Animals and more was like seeing a flying dog- it was too weird to be true. Nevertheless, she listened and asked questions.

"…And then Fiyero and I thought we could finally be happy together until we saw the flying house. I rushed over and found out Nesssa was dead and the enchanted shoes were missing."

For once, Dorothy actually felt sorry for her. At the time it had seemed as though she was doing a favor to everyone. And even though the house was an accident, she could understand why it would be upsetting. "I- I'm…. sorry."

"Oh, I'm not done. Glinda and I got into a fight about… well, some important things, and some things that girls are just prone to fight about. That's when these guards swooped in and…" She stopped.

"What? Then what?" asked Dorothy.

"I'll… I'll get to that another day." Elphaba left the room and went to join Glinda, who was sitting on her bed rather bored. "Glinda?"

"Oh, Elphie! Hello!"

Elphaba could sense that something was wrong. "Glinda, is there a problem?"

"Well… I don't know what it is exactly. But something just doesn't seem right- I don't know what it is. But it just feels like someone followed us back here…" Glinda's voice trailed off. "I just feel watched."

"I'll ask Fiyero if he feels it too. Let's go." said Elphaba. The girls went downstairs and Elphaba called "Fiyero, we were just wondering something. Can you come here for a moment?"

No answer.


	9. Secret of Red

**A/N: Yes, after a seemingly long week in NY I am back with another chapter! Enjoy, my pretties!**

No one in the castle was expecting what was to come. They all had their minds on something else. Elphaba was rushing around the castle looking for Fiyero, with Glinda trailing not far behind. Dorothy was simply thinking. None of them could have anticipated the events that were about to happen.

"YERO, where are you?" called Elphaba. "YERO?" Glinda ran behind Elphaba.

"Elphie, he's not here. Maybe he's just outside! That would be less confusifying than running around your castle aimlessly!" suggested Glinda.

Elphaba agreed. She was willing to do anything. Elphaba just _hated _it when Fiyero went missing. She pushed her silky black hair behind her green ear and swallowed nervously as she pulled the door open.

At the same time, Dorothy was sitting in the tiny room, thinking. She didn't have anything else to do, and she could go anywhere since the door was locked. But, she thought, it wasn't as bad as she had thought before now that she knew she was safe from any harm from the Witch- Elphaba, she meant. It was strange getting used to her name. In fact, it was strange getting used to all of it. Dorothy stood up and peeked out the tiny window. Same old sight she saw every time she looked out- there was some grass, a few dead plants and some weirdly shaped statue that barely even looked like one. She sighed and walked around the room, her fingers lightly touching the wall. She moved around unflappably until she heard a "clang!" She had discovered a trapdoor.

Dorothy moved quickly through the corridor that led from the trapdoor. It was dark and seemed to never end. Made of stone, the compressed tunnel seemed to go on forever, and her simple blue and white dress kept getting caught on hooks. Questions raced through her mind. Why was the tunnel here? Who built it and for what purpose? Where did it lead? Did Elphaba or any of the others know about it? The third question was answered as she stumbled out of the passageway and into the bright light of day. The tunnel came from the ground and was hidden by a bramble- one that scratched her arm. Silently, she crawled out of the thorny bush and hid behind it as she watched a shocking scene unfold before her.

The rush of air hit Elphaba and Glinda as the door opened to reveal a figure dragging Fiyero. Another minute and he would have been gone- him and the figure were already far enough away.

"Come on." whispered Elphaba. The girls ran up to them.

"WHAT IN OZ'S NAME DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING WITH HIM?" shouted Glinda. The body turned around to reveal his true identity. Elphaba gasped, and Dorothy, who was only a few feet away, stared in awe of this strange face.

"Red?" gasped Elphaba in shock. "What are you doing?" Red chuckled with a sinister expression. "Disposing of the evidence, of course." he replied.

"What evidence?" asked Elphaba.

"Look at him." Fiyero was unconscious. "If you want to commit a crime, make sure there are no witnesses!"

"What crime?" asked Elphaba, although she already knew.

"Simple." he replied, and called out: "Grab them both!" Two men came out of nowhere, each one holding Elphaba and Glinda back. Red pulled out a rifle and pointed it at the two girls. "Which one first?"

"I can't believe anyone would do this to a person!" snapped Elphaba.

"Oh, please. Did you really think I couldn't see past your stupid little disguise? Do you think I was just having a walk outside Little Miss Bubble's castle for no reason at all? Do you think I didn't send you to the worst hotel in the Emerald City for a reason? Do you think I didn't know immediately who you were… Elle?" His voice took on a whole new tone. He clearly wasn't the gruff hiker he seemed to be when they first met. His voice was much darker and sadistically sophisticated. He had been putting on a disguise, too.

"Why are you doing this?" asked Glinda as she struggled in vain to get free.

"Because you destroyed Oz. You took away our Wizard. You took away our individuality. And yet you just sit in your stupid little bubble like everything's all right!" accused Red.

"How in Oz did I take away your individuality?"

"I think you'll recall a certain festival- your engagement party, I believe. While the wealthy Ozians were blindly celebrating at your stupid party, the poor ones were in their excuses for homes. You blew all your money on your dumb gifts. You left the poor citizens of Oz stripped of everything. We couldn't do anything but be all the same. Blend in- no, not even that. Fade away! You were floating around spreading "wonderfulility" as you called it, but all we less fortunate Ozians were NOWHERE!" he hissed.

"Why didn't you complain?" wondered Glinda.

"Because you never listened! Now, it's time for a new figure to emerge. And as for you," he pointed the rifle at Elphaba, "We should get quite a reward for TRULY killing the Wicked Witch of the West."

Right then, something snapped inside Dorothy. She stood up out from behind the bush and dashed in front of both the girls- right as Red shot the bullet.


	10. Questions

In shock, the men let down their guard. Elphaba and Glinda saw it as their golden opportunity. Elphaba kicked the man holding her from behind and broke free of his grasp. Glinda did the same. Red was too busy wondering whether he killed the young girl or not to stop Elphaba from picking up Fiyero, who was fortunately light as he was made of straw. Glinda snatched up a bleeding Dorothy and the two dashed to the castle. Elphaba slammed and locked the door- they couldn't open it with a gun. She laid Fiyero down on a couch and ran with Glinda to the room Elphaba used to practice new spells.

"Do you have the Grimmerie?" asked Elphaba. Glinda nodded and ran to get it. Elphaba stared at the limp body of Dorothy. She wouldn't want anything to really harm her. Sure, Dorothy killed Nessa and stole her shoes. Sure, she was a total burden. But Dorothy had saved their lives. Elphaba should do the same.

Glinda rushed back carrying the thick book. Elphaba turned it to a page from curing simple wounds. Fortunately, Dorothy hadn't been shot anywhere fatal- only in the arm. But she was bleeding dangerously, and she could lose too much blood.

"Letiset Ack Nen Combetor, Letiset Ack Nen Res Fron, Letiset Ack Nen Divers…" she chanted, moving her arms and hands in accordance with the spell. Soon, the wounds began to close and Dorothy awoke.

She couldn't believe it! Elphaba had healed her- she really hadn't expected it. Dorothy didn't know what came over her when she jumped in front of the rifle. She had just lost it. With curiosity, she stared at her arm. It felt as though she was never shot- although the pain of a gunshot was an experience she wasn't bound to forget very soon. Dorothy looked up at Elphaba, who was holding the Grimmerie with a look of thankfulness on her face, and Glinda, who was sitting on a bench watching.

No one really knew what to say. Everyone just stared at each other until Dorothy spoke up. "Thank you so much!"

Elphaba replied, "Don't mention it. It's a pretty simple spell…"

"The fact that you actually used it, though! I mean, if you didn't…"

"Well, did you think I would just let you bleed to death?" Elphaba thought that was pretty absurd, but then she remembered that everyone who knew she was alive still thought of her as the Wicked Witch of the West.

"Well… sort of…." Dorothy admitted sheepishly.

"Next time think again. I wouldn't do that!"

"Yeah, Elphie's nice!" Glinda chimed in.

"That's another thing I was wondering about. Elphaba- did I get it right? Elphaba? I think so- Elphaba told me you two were eventually friends, but in public you always acted like the worst of enemies. What-"

"See, in the public eye, I was supposed to provide encouragafying happiness throughout Oz. And Elphie made me promise not to clear her name, so I had to make due. Besides, that's the message Horrible Morrible wanted all of Oz to know…" replied Glinda with a hint of nostalgia.

Elphaba cut in, interrupting the trip on Memory Lane. "So now you know why I healed you. Now it's my turn to ask you: Why did you take that bullet? Why didn't you just watch your enemy and captor be killed, and come in for Glinda later? In fact, why didn't you just leave it all and use that as a chance to escape?" Elphaba was quite shocked when Dorothy had jumped in for her: Confused as to how she got out, as to why she did it and as to what she was thinking.

"Well…" Dorothy began, thinking. "Well, I really don't know. I suppose because… because every story has two sides. When you told me yours, it made me think to see both sides, THEN make my move. And I guess I just did what I knew was right." Spoken like a philosopher.

"Well…" Elphaba was at a loss for words. "Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to check on Fiyero." With that, she ran out the open door, only to see he was completely conscious.

"Fabala, what happened?" he asked dizzily. Elphaba told him the entire story.

"But that's not what's important. What's important is, those people are trying to find a way into this castle right now, and the four of us can't stay in here forever. We need to find food, and my broom can't hold up all that well. How can we get out, and then what do we do?"

"Elphaba," began Fiyero, "I think I have just the solution."


	11. Flying and Falling

Fiyero proposed his idea to the group. Glinda looked slightly worried, Dorothy looked nervous, and Elphaba listened in as though it was the best idea she had ever heard.

"I don't know, it's a bit risky…" worried Glinda.

"So is staying here!" countered Fiyero.

"I think it would be brilliant!" Elphaba put in her two cents.

"It would definitely work, but maybe not for Elphaba and Glinda. You two are too heavy." said Dorothy.

"Let's just try it. They won't be expecting it!" encouraged Fiyero.

"All right." Elphaba picked up the Grimmerie. "I found a summoning spell near the end. Why didn't we think of this before?" Elphaba then began a chant. At first nothing happened, but then…

"SCREECH SCREECH!" they heard. Glinda and Elphaba ran up to the open window. Chistery and the others flew in. "Miss Elphaba?" said Chistery. "Didn't you melt?"

"Wait, Chistery, you can talk?" Elphaba couldn't believe her hard work back at Kiamo Ko had paid off. "When did you learn?"

"After we thought you were dead." replied Chistery. "We left the castle and we went into hiding."

"Where have you been hiding?" asked Elphaba.

"Past the mountains in the Northeast."

"Is there anyone there?" asked Elphaba.

"Not really." answered Chistery.

"Can you take us there?" Chistery nodded affirmatively.

Dorothy and Fiyero were very light. The straw man was the easiest to hold. Glinda was also fairly light, but her blue gown weighed at least 30 pounds on its own. Elphaba chose to fly with Chistery, the strongest. "Okay, is everyone ready?" Everyone said yes, and they set off to fly to the Northeast.

It was a long flight, but it was late and they stayed above the clouds, so they went undetected. They flew up above Muchkinland and Applerue undetected, and we about to enter the border into Glillikus when they noticed something: It wa growing light and the clouds were growing thin.

"Where can we fly?" wondered Glinda "In this perfect sky we'll be seen. Think no one notices Glinda The Good, a scarecrow, a green girl, someone who supposedly killed said green girl and a bunch of flying monkeys? No way!"

"We'll have to take a detour…" mused Chistery. "But where?"

"There's nowhere as far as I can see. We're above the last cloud." reported another monkey.

"We'll need to take the chance." Chistery decided.

"They'll see us!" insisted Elphaba

"Not if we fly really quickly and really high." It was more of a wish than a definite statement, but it was better than lingering in the clouds.

"Gee, I wonder if Red got into your castle yet?" wondered Dorothy, her mind not on the current situation.

"They'll be after us by now. Chistery's right, we need to take the chance." said Fiyero.

The monkeys flew as quickly as they could, their wings nothing but light blurs. The wind blew on Elphaba's face, and she tried to smooth her raven-colored hair down, more to calm herself than for vanity.

Unfortunately, they didn't fly quite quickly enough, and a Munchkin that was below looked up to see the weather just in time to see the four flying with the monkeys.

"IT'S THE WITCH!" he screamed. Other Munchkins looked up at the sky as well to see a terrified Elphaba encouraging Chistery to fly faster.

Chistery was working as hard as he could to fly away from the Munchkins, but he and the other monkeys were exhausted. They had been flying for hours on end, and their speed was starting to slow down more and more.

"Come on, Chistery! You can do it! Just a little more!" urged Elphaba with a frightened expression on her face. Glinda, Fiyero and Dorothy were also worried, but Elphaba was scared stiff. Normally, she would be afraid, yes, but not this afraid. This time, however, she knew that it wasn't just her life in danger. It was the life of Chistery, Fiyero and Glinda on the line as well. They needed to get out of there.

The rushing wind of speed turned into a gentle breeze , and the blur of wings that used to be became slowly beating, barely moving ones. Chistery was hungry, thirsty, tired and had run out of energy.

"Chistery, come on! You can do it!" said Elphaba, although she herself doubted that.

Right then, the flying monkeys ran out of energy. Using the last bit of oomph they had, they beat their wings one more time before collapsing.

Elphaba braced herself for a fall. She knew it wouldn't hurt Fiyero, but Glinda and Dorothy would be. As she fell, she saw Munchkins waiting under the sky for her. They hit the ground hard, and Elphaba stood, looking around for something, anything to use as a defense weapon. Then her heart leapt. Standing there, along with the Munchkins, was Boq.


	12. Author's Note 2

**No, it's not an update yet I am working on it though. I need someone to beta read my next few chapters for my new Wicked fanfiction Friends to Enemies. Please message me if you can.**

**Thanks,**

**Saz**


	13. Chapter 13

"Bick?" was all Glinda could say. The man who led the Witch Hunt had decided to return to his people.

"Tin Man?" asked Dorothy. Then she remembered what Elphaba told her of how she saved his life, but he hated her. "Oh no…"

"Don't touch her." said Fiyero. He knew very well that Boq was dangerous when he needed to be, and around Elphaba he felt that need. What could he do? Could Elphaba defend herself? They were surrounded already.

Elphaba's instincts weren't helping, but she looked around still. What was she going to do? She needed to defend herself. She helped Chistery off the ground and said with a shaky voice, "Don't come any closer to any of us, I can shoot fire if I need to."

Boq sneered. "That won't do much, you're forgetting I'm no longer a Munchkin. I can't be burned so easily." Then he turned to Glinda. Glinda, still the love of his life, even now. "Glinda, are you alright?" he asked. "Did she hurt you?"

"Bick,"

"BOQ!"

"Boq, you know very well that she didn't. She's my friend and I'm on her side, not yours. I don't share your "infatualiation." I know you don't trust us anymore, but please listen: She's not lying, she's not wicked, she's not-"

"Don't try that on me." began Boq. "Miss Dorothy, what happened to you? Why are you here?"

"I'm here because I returned to Oz to ask a simple question, only to get pulled into this. But-" It was time for Dorothy to say it. "I'm on her side, too."

"What? This is ridiculous. What spell did she put on you?"

"They're not under any spell. But trust me, you need to listen. People are in danger, I know you-" Elphaba was cut off.

"I'm sick of hearing you talk, Witch. Look around, you're surrounded. Just give up now." interrupted Boq, motioning around at Munchkins with guns.

Elphaba's mind raced. What was she to do? She couldn't give herself up. It wasn't about her life, it was about Glinda. But she was surrounded, and she had nothing to fight with. What had happened last time she was in that situation?

_Fiyero swung in with a rope that was conveniently hanging there. "Let the green girl go!" he ordered, pointing the rifle at the guards. Nothing happened. "Let her go!" he repeated. "Or explain to all of Oz how the guards watched as Glinda the Good was slain."_

That had gotten her into a tough spot when they took away Fiyero, but it had gotten her out of danger. How could she try again? Elphaba focused on creating a fire. In her head she chanted the spell. Soon enough the flames rose from her jade-colored hand. She exchanged a glance with her friends that said, "Just play along."

The flame was easily controllable, and it stayed in her unscathed hand perfectly. She grabbed a hold of Dorothy and whispered in her ear "Play along."

"Don't touch any of us. Drop your weapons now, or I'll shoot the flame an extra inch!" None of the Munchkins did anything. They turned to Boq, waiting for orders."  
"You wouldn't." Boq smirked. "She's on your side, she said."

"That may be so," said Elphaba, "but that won't stop me, you know my history with teams." Boq was convinced. Even though the girl said she was on her side, he didn't believe it. Not fully.

The Munchkins set their guns down slowly, and Elphaba released Dorothy. Right then they realized something. They didn't have a plan for what to do next! They couldn't exactly just walk off now. They couldn't just stand around here. They couldn't fly, now that the monkeys were so low on energy.

Boq took their pondering as a chance to grab them all again. The Munchkin men held back all four of them, incapacitating them completely.

"Stop!" cried Glinda.

Fiyero tried to fight them off, to no avail. They pushed him down completely, showing the other three not to try what Fiyero just did.

"And now…" said Boq, "is when we decide what to do with you."

The last thing Elphaba remembered was a flash of darkness and she went unconscious.

When Elphaba awoke she was in a small cell. Glinda, Fiyero and Dorothy were all there as well. Convenient.

"What just happened?" asked Elphaba dizzily, her heart pounding. "Where's Chistery?"

"He got away." replied Fiyero. "All the Monkeys did. We didn't."

"Obviously.' muttered Elphaba sarcastically. "I mean, where are we?"

"None of us know." said Glinda. "We just need to figure out how to get out."

Elphaba looked around more carefully. The cell was pure stone, except for bit of rust, and the heavy door. There was a small drain in the corner, and the cold floor was all there was to sit on.

"Do you think they're just going to leave us here?" asked Dorothy, on the brink of tears.

"No." said Elphaba. "That's the one thing I know. Boq will come down here eventually. I don't see the point in keeping us in here really. But Boq obviously has a reason for it, and I think part of it has to do with you, Glinda."

"Why me?" wondered Glinda.

"Because he's in love with you. He has been since Shiz and you know it. He won't kill you, because it would kill him inside. But he knows if he kills one of us, you'll… what's the word I'm looking for? Lose it. I know you when you're angry, Glinda, and when you're sad. You're a different person. But he won't leave us here, either." speculated Elphaba.

"Well, I guess we have to wait." said Fiyero.

No one knew how long the wait really was, only that it took five hours at the very least, 10 at the most for Boq to finally come down.

"How did you survive?" he demanded right off the bat.

Elphaba decided to tell him. Normally she wouldn't, but it wouldn't change her fate in the slightest. "I slipped through a trapdoor."

After hearing this, Boq turned to Glinda. "Miss Glinda, please don't do this." Glinda glared up at him. "Come on, it's not too late to turn away from her."

"You just don't get it, do you?" snapped Glinda. "You'll never get what you really want. It's not happening! EVER!"

Boq turned on his tin heels and slammed the massive door.

"We need to get out of here!" said Elphaba immediately.

"How?"

"I... don't know." she admitted.

"I do." came an unknown voice.


End file.
